Rewi Alley: The incredible story of a boy from the Canterbury foothills who helped drive the spread of education into the towns and villages of the largest nation on earth.

Soldier, farmer, firefighter, writer, poet, educator, visionary, social reformer, translator, worker, internationalist, revered citizen, potter, hero and loyal friend of China at a time when it was dangerous to be a friend of China. Named after the famous rangatira Rewi Maniapoto by Pākehā parents who he said were “progressive, ahead of their time”.

Alley said he found inspiration in his namesake whose catch-cry “Ka whawhai tonu mātou, Ake! Ake! Ake! We will fight on for ever and ever!” still resonates more than a century later.

Speaking at a dinner marking the departure of exchange students as part of the New Zealand China Friendship Society – launched by Alley in 1952 - Māori Affairs

Minister Dr Pita Sharples said Alley was possibly our most famous kiwi ex pat who opened doors into China before it was even fashionable to talk about China: “Rewi Alley leaves us all a legacy young New Zealanders need to know, to take pride in and to be inspired by.”

Alley headed to China in 1927 to “take a look at their revolution” but the schoolteacher’s son was soon convinced of the need to establish schooling and training in China’s small towns and villages: Education for All not just those living in the big cities. An associate of Mao Zedong and Che Guevara, Alley wrote more than sixty books that aimed to bring better international understanding of his second home. During the next 60 years Alley experienced some of China’s most dramatic moments: the Japanese invasion; civil war; communist revolution; and cultural revolution. Establishing cooperatives and setting up schools for over 60-years, Alley is one of the Peoples’ Republic first foreign honorary citizens. More than 56 million Chinese citizens voted for the ten foreigners who have made exceptional contributions to China in the past 100 years: Alley was named one of China’s top ten international friends of all time.

Caption: Māori and Chinese culture took centre stage at the Taniwha Dragon Festival in 2013